Terps Outlast The Owls; Win 36-27

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (WUSA) -- At halftime, I was ending my tweets with #sorryedsall. I was apologizing for my blogs being somewhat pessimistic recently, especially after the close call against William and Mary. I was repenting because the Terps were coasting against Temple, leading 26-3.

Little did I know history was going to repeat itself, sort of.

Maryland's biggest challenge last year was closing out games. They struggled to close out on Saturday as well. Coming out of halftime, freshman running back Wes Brown fumbled his first carry, giving the Owls the spark they needed.

Four plays later, a Temple touchdown. That score would ignite a 24-3 run, favoring the Owls, heading into the last four minutes.

Leading 29-27, Terps head coach Randy Edsall decided it was not the time to be conservative and dialed a play which resulted in a 39 yard freshman to freshman connection between quarterback Perry Hills and WR Stefon Diggs.

That set up a Justus Pickett touchdown, that would clinch the game. Despite victory, not all things were pretty for the Terps.

Cons:

Turnovers: This gamestarted and finishedwith poor execution. Both offenses struggled to hold on to the pigskin. The Terps fumbled the ball four times. There were two fumbles in each half, all by freshman.

Diggs muffed a punt, Hills lost his on a sack, and Brown fumbled twice while rushing.

This is the second game in a row for Maryland with four turnovers. I'm sure Edsall does not like that fact his team is flirting with lady luck.

Secondary: Temple moved quickly on Maryland through the air. However, their game plan was to run it down Maryland's throats. The front seven of the defense made that difficult to do, so they test the secondary -- successfully -- compiling most of their 178 yards passing in the second half. There were question marks surrounding the safety play coming into the season, but most people expected solid play from the Cornerback position. That unit has not beenconsistenteither.

Pros:

Stefon Diggs: Remember when he committed to Maryland at Looney's Pub this past spring? I wouldn't be surprised if they partied again Saturday night, in his honor. He had 135 all-purpose yards, including the catch that essentially sealed the game.

Even before that catch, when the offenselookedstale, he provided the spark in the first quarter that offense moving. His teammates are feeding off his energy, even though, they don't admit it. Last week, Edsall said he wanted to get him more touches. Well, mission accomplished.

Perry Hills: The freshman gunslinger learned a lot from week one. He made better decisions, didn't panic, and threw the ball out of bounds instead of toward defenders. His completion percentage was just over 50 percent, but he threw for 190 yards and two big touchdowns. He is growing as a player. That is always a good thing.